October 31, 2006

Hundreds of Hareidi religious Jews in the Mea She'arim neighborhood of Jerusalem demonstrated in mourner's clothes Tuesday night against the planned parade by homosexuals next week.They were dressed in sack cloth, a sign of morning and marched to the adjacent neighborhood of Geula while shouting "Gevalt" [shock]. More protests are expected as the date of next Friday's planned parade nears.

וְגַנּוֹתִי אֶל הָעִיר הַזֹּאת לְהוֹשִׁיעָהּ"For I will defend this city to save it"

October 30, 2006

Recent news HERE and HEREFYI: Jerusalem Police Chief Ilan Franco can be faxed at 02-539 1466, and Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky can be faxed at 02-629-6014. From abroad, replace the initial 0 with international access code and 972.

I ask all my religious and Zionist readers and Blogger friends to act quickly and post your distaste for the "World Pride Parade" that will (H"V) take place on November 16th [JHK: Sorry, it's actually November 10th. My bad] in the Holy City.

There will be cross dressing, youth recruitment, Sabbath desecration and countless other chilulei Hashem that must be prevented. Their last attempt to hold the parade ended up with Israel at war with Hizballah. How many messages can we get from the Holy One Blessed Be He and not respond? If you love Hashem, His Torah and his Holy City, then you have a chiyuv to speak out and make your feelings known.

Blog. Write letters to the Mayor of Jerusalem. Organize a protest. Daven and say Tehillim. Sign a petition.

Jews, Muslims and Christians must unite to stop this parade and protect Jeruslaem's sanctity and Holiness from this outward provocation. There are thousands of other cities in which this parade could have been held. Having it in Jerusalem is a direct provication against the Orthodox Jewish world, devout Muslims and faithful Christians.

If you are still not convinced... I add these web sites here.

WARNING they are not for the fainthearted and are very un-tznius. But it does give you an idea what's coming. Please do not click on the sites if you think it will effect your neshoma. It will as they are very disturbing. Please do not hold me responsible... I am offering them as a service for those who want to be educated on this group. I do not want to bear the sin of you seeing it, so I humbly ask that you say outline: "I do not hold Yehudah HaKohain responsible for my actions and I do this on my own free will."WORLD PRIDE WEBSITE

The lecture was supposed to start at eight o'clock. It did not begin until much later.

It was hot. It was stuffy. There were not nearly enough seats for those who came to hear him. The Fire Marshal of Beverly Hills would not let the lecture begin until people left the aisles and back of the shul. People were pushing their way in and the doors had to be held to prevent more people from pushing their way in. It was such a balagan that my five year old son was getting scared. Throngs of Israelis and Persians refused to vacate the area and that led to shouting matches and protests. Those seated wanted the lecture to begin. Those standing did not want to leave.

It was one of the most incredible and special moments of my life.

I don't know if you can imagine it. There were 1,4000 pushing and shoving for Torah. Busses of people came from Arizona to see him and many people in Israel were watching it live at 5:30 am local time.

I have been to concerts. I have seen many movie and TV stars in Hollywood. Their fans are nothing like this. Those worshippers of false "idols" have no real soul or purpose to their adoration.

These people were literally pushing and screaming for G-d and His Torah. The hunger and desire of these people was so potent that when the Rav came out the place erupted. I actually cried. I turned to my sons and I said: "This is what it will be like when Mashiach comes." To which my ten year old son replied: "except there will be a few more billion people."

The Rav had an aura around him. His holiness and love for HaKaddosh Baruch Hu permeated everyone there. People shouted, danced and sang just at the sight of him.

I have never said this of anyone. Could this man be Mashiach?

Visit his site: SHOFAR.NETWatch the videos (subtitled). Listen to the lectures (in Hebrew). Donate to help him in his work.

During the month of Ramadan, Palestinian Authority television programs focus on religious themes. But even within these programs, PA TV inserts political, hate and violence messages directed at Israel. PA TV is run by the office of PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

One significant message that has been strongly emphasized by repeated broadcasting of the same programs is the denial of Israel’s right to exist. One program, which recently appeared on PA TV three times in the course of a single week, features Dr. Hassan Khader, founder of the Al Quds Encyclopedia, who argues that the Jews have no ancient historical connection to the Western Wall of the Temple. He teaches:

"The first connection of the Jews to this site began in the 16th Century... The Jewish connection to this site is a recent connection, not ancient… like the roots of the Islamic connection… Who would have believed that the Israelis would arrive 1400 years [after the beginning of Islam], conquer Jerusalem and would make this wall into their special place of worship, where they worship and pray?” The true name of the Western Wall of the Temple, according to the PA academic, is really the Al Buraq Wall – named after Muhammad’s horse which was tied to the wall – according to an Islamic tradition that attempts to honor Jerusalem.

Finally, Khader praises all the violence and death the Palestinians have initiated to prevent Jews’ access to the Western Wall and Temple Mount, from the beginning of the 20th century until now, and indicates that it will continue if Jews insist on the right to the Western Wall.The following are excepts from his interview:

Khader: “The issue of the Al-Buraq Wall [Western Wall – renamed by Muslims "Buraq Wall" after Muhammad's horse] is one of the wonders which we don’t know why it happened in this order [of historical events]. Who would have believed, back then, when Islam began in the time of the prophet, who would have believed that the Israelis would arrive 1400 years later, conquer Jerusalem and would make this wall into their special place of worship, where they worship and pray? It’s incredible! We did not invent this place, the Al-Buraq Wall. Know that this wall is the only one of the four walls of the Al-Aqsa Mosque - the Mosque has four sides - this wall is the only one that carries an Islamic name since the beginning of Islam. Allah, praise Him, gave Al-Aqsa its name, and the Al-Buraq Wall was named by the Prophet… The Al-Buraq Wall is the station, similar to a space station, where Al-Buraq [Muhammad’s horse] landed. This is the place where Al-Buraq landed and the prophet tied Al-Buraq [to the wall].Read the rest of the article HEREMuch praise for Palestinian Media Watch for their great work. Drop them some coin HEREMe: It never fails to amaze me how far the Arab/Muslim world will go to lie. Do they actually believe their own fantasy or is it one big "wink wink" among them? Eventually these lies will become "truth" as the Nazis have shown us. Where are the Christian Arabs who read their Bible? Why aren't they speaking out?A better question... why aren't we speaking out more?

October 18, 2006

Doctors in Gaza have reported previously unseen injuries from Israeli weapons that cause severe burning and deep internal wounds often resulting in amputations or death.

The injuries were first seen in July, when the Israeli military launched a series of operations in Gaza following the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants.

Doctors said that, unlike traditional combat injuries from shells or bullets, there were no large shrapnel pieces found in the patients' bodies and there appeared to be a "dusting" on severely damaged internal organs.

"Bodies arrived severely fragmented, melted and disfigured," said Jumaa Saqa'a, a doctor at Shifa hospital, the main casualty hospital in Gaza City. "We found internal burning of organs, while externally there were minute pieces of shrapnel. When we opened many of the injured people we found dusting on the internal organs."

October 17, 2006

Following a six-week legal struggle, the police in Hevron informed Yehuda Cohen of Bat Ayin at the end of last week that it had changed its mind about confiscating his gun license.

The Yesha (Judea and Samaria) Civil Rights Organization (YCRO), headed by Orit Strook of Hevron, calls upon the Jewish residents of Yesha to fight against the police tendency to revoke their weapons.

Cohen, a shepherd, complained in the summer of repeated Arab stalking and attacks against his fellow shepherds. In once case, a shepherd even required medical treatment in a hospital. To Cohen's surprise, his complaints led the police not to take action against the Arabs, but rather to revoke his weapon. The police said this would "prevent future clashes.

"YCRO decided to fight, together with Cohen, against what they called this "arbitrary police decision" - and the police finally gave in, informing Cohen's lawyer, Naftali Wurtzberger, that it was no longer seeking to confiscate Cohen's gun.

YCRO's Orit Strook expressed satisfaction with the decision, and called upon the police to change its entire approach. "It cannot be that the way to avoid Jewish-Arabs always comes at the expense of Jews' basic civil rights," she said. "The police must stop looking for the coin under the streetlight. Law-enforcement must be more objective and more equalitarian."Strook said that Yesha residents whose weapons are confiscated by the police must not accept this passively, "as such decisions may have been made with irrelevant motives and may not stand up to judicial and objective review."

October 10, 2006

October 09, 2006

What happened to the 50 tons of gold, silver and sacred treasures looted from Herod's Temple following the Roman legionnaires' sack of Jerusalem on Tisha b'Av in the year 70 CE?

The Arch of Titus in Rome, erected shortly after the death of Titus who reigned as emperor from 79 to 81, clearly depicts Roman soldiers bearing on their shoulders the golden candelabrum, silver trumpets and bejewelled Table of the Divine Presence which the Roman emperor Vespasian and his son Titus carted back to Rome as trophies of war. Between 75 CE and the early 5th century, the treasure remained on public display in the Temple of Peace in Rome's Forum. Many Jews believe – almost as an article of faith – that the Temple artifacts remain there in Rome, secreted away in vaults beneath the Vatican.

But in a newly published book, British historian Sean Kingsley, basing himself on untapped historical texts and new archaeological sources, argues that the treasures were removed from Rome after the Vandal invasion of 455 CE.

Kingsley, whose book God's Gold: The Quest for the Lost Temple Treasure of Jerusalem was released October 5 by John Murray, says that the loot was first taken to Carthage in Tunisia, then to Hippo Regius in Algeria, and on to Constantinople – today known as Istanbul, Turkey, before finally being returned to the Holy Land in the mid 6th century. At that time, the treasures were ultimately hidden in the Judean wilderness, beneath the remote Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. Theodosius, 12 km east of Bethlehem.

It's a plausible argument that has almost messianic implications. If the Temple treasures were retrieved, the discovery could help lead to the actual rebuilding of the Temple, the resumption of biblical sacrifice – and the coming of the Messiah.

“One thing is for sure – it is not imprisoned deep in Vatican City. I am the first person to prove that the Temple treasures no longer languish in Rome,” says Kingsley, an expert on the East Mediterranean economy in Late Antiquity.

Kingsley’s sources include Josephus Flavius, the 1st-century Jewish general turned renegade who chronicled the history of the failed Jewish revolt against Rome. Kingsley also found evidence in, among others, the works of Procopius, a court historian of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, who died in 562, and from Theophanes Confessor (c.760-817), a Christian monk from Constantinople.

In Chronographia, which spanned 284 to 813, Theophanes recorded that Geiseric the Lame, king of the Germanic tribe of the Vandals, loaded the treasures that "Titus had brought to Rome after the capture of Jerusalem" on a boat and took them to his North African capital Carthage in 455. Although history remembers the Vandal sack of Rome as extremely brutal (and their act made the word 'vandalism' a term for any wantonly destructive act), in actuality Geiseric honored his pledge to Pope Leo I not to make war on the people of Rome. The Vandals did however take gold, silver and many other things of value away from the city.

In the crusade of 533 to restore the lost Roman provinces of North Africa, the Byzantine general Flavius Belisarius seized the treasure from a Vandal ship fleeing the harbor of Hippo Regius, today known as Annaba or Bone, Algeria. It was then shipped to Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium. In recognition of Belisarius' great victory, the Emperor Justinian granted him a Roman triumph (the last one ever given) upon his return to Constantinople. In the procession were paraded the spoils of the Temple of Jerusalem which Belisarius had recovered.

In the 7th century, the Persians sacked Jerusalem, killing thousands of Christians, and dragging the Patriarch Zacharias to Persia. Kingsley believes that his replacement, Modestus, spirited away the treasures to their final hiding place in the Judean Desert in 614. The Monastery of St. Theodosius, where Kingsley believes the relics may be today, was founded in 476.

According to Kingsley, "The treasure resonates fiercely across modern politics. Since the mid-1990s, a heated political wrangle has been simmering between the Vatican and Israel, which has accused the papacy of imprisoning the treasure.

"The Temple treasure remains a deadly political tool in the volatile Arab-Israeli conflict centered on the Temple Mount [the site of the Jewish Temple and the Muslim Dome of the Rock].

"The treasure's final hiding place - in the modern West Bank ... deep in Hamas territory - will rock world religions."

Me: Need a bit more proof. Or ANY proof for that matter. Regardless, why aren't we going to in to the church to see if it's there? Where is Vendyl Jones?

from Arutz ShevaA record number of Jews gathered Monday at the Western Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City for the traditional massive Birkat Kohanim, priestly blessings.

The ceremony has become a tradition ever since the liberation of the Temple Mount during the Six-Day War in 1967 and is seen as an observance of the Jewish obligation to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Temple three times a year, on Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles). During the weeklong Pesach and Sukkot holidays, the ceremony is held on the second of the Hol haMoed (intermediate) days.

Hundreds of kohanim, Jews who trace their lineage to Aaron, the first High Priest, stood closest to the Western Wall to take part in the special blessings. Attending the Western Wall prayers Monday were Chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yonah Metzger, as well as Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch. Rabbi Rabinovitch told Arutz-7 that Monday's priestly blessing marked the largest such gathering for prayers at the site since the first Sukkot after the Six Day War.

Police were forced to close the gates leading to the Western Wall Plaza due to its being filled to capacity by worshippers. "The blessing, however, reaches those stuck outside the plaza as well, obviously," Rabbi Rabinovitch said. He added that many of those packing the plaza were not outwardly observant. "Many secular Jews have adopted the custom of making a pilgrimage to the Western Wall on the holiday," he said.

The Birkat Kohanim is a part of daily prayers in Israel, but is only recited on holidays in most communities outside Israel. The blessing given appears in Numbers 6:23-27:

And G-d spoke to Moses saying: Speak unto Aaron and his sons, saying, in this manner shall you bless the children of Israel. Say to them: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord shine His face upon you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you, and grant you peace.

Meanwhile, there have been ongoing visits to the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site, throughout the week. Guided visits are being offered free of charge for those wishing to visit the permitted areas of the mount in accordance with Jewish law.

National Union faction head MK Uri Ariel ascended the Temple Mount Monday morning, saying that there is special significance to completing one's pilgrimage at the actual site of the Holy Temple on the three festivals. Ascending today, even as the Holy Temple is not standing, broadcasts a message reminding the entire world and first and foremost Israeli society, that the Temple is the center and the heart of the Jewish nation," Ariel said. And we still expect and are prepared to rebuild it."

Visits for Jewish men and women who wish to ascend the Temple Mount in accordance with Jewish law are being offered over the course of the Sukkot Festival. All tours begin at 7.30 AM, beginning at the Mughrabi Gate, adjacent to the main entrance to the Western Wall plaza.

Participants must undergo physical preparations and immerse in a ritual bath beforehand, as well as arrive dressed in non-leather shoes. Police currently require a passport to ascend the mount and forbid the carrying up of religious articles aside from tzitzit and head coverings. For more information about the free tours and instructions on how to prepare, call (02) 571 0171 or 050 658 0224 (from outside Israel: +972 2 571 0171 or +972 50 658 0224).

Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades leader explains PA president's ultimate goal is to destroy Jewish state.Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' stated recognition of Israel's right to exist is part of a "political calculation" aimed at ultimately destroying the Jewish state, a terror group leader and member of Abbas' Fatah party told WND in an interview.

The leader said the Fatah party does not recognize Israel and that any final accord that doesn't include flooding the Jewish state with millions of Palestinians will not be supported by the Fatah party and will lead to Palestinian civil war.

"The base of our Fatah movement keeps dreaming of Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jaffa and Akko," said Abu Ahmed, Fatah member and leader of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in the northern Gaza Strip.

"There is no change in our position. Abbas recognizes Israel because of pressure that the Zionists and the Americans are exercising on him. We understand this is part of his obligations and political calculations."

The Brigades is the declared "military wing" of Abbas' Fatah party. Together with the Islamic Jihad terror group, the Brigades has taken responsibility for every suicide bombing inside Israel the past two years, including an attack in Tel Aviv this past April that killed an American teenager and nine Israelis. The Brigades also has carried out scores of deadly shooting and rocket attacks against Israeli civilians in recent months.

Brigades leaders are members of Fatah. The terror group's founder, Marwan Barghouti, is an elected Fatah official and is largely considered one of the most popular Fatah figures. Several top Brigades members serve in Abbas' Force 17 personal security detail.

Uniting Jewish descendants of King David from around the globe in the Holy City of Jerusalem May 28-30, 2007

In joint celebration of Jerusalem’s 40th year of independence And the inauguration of The International Davidic Dynasty Genealogy Center and Museum of Jerusalem.

Me: My wife's gandmother has a shtar yichus going back to King David. I wonder how many Jews are direct descendants. I would imagine a fair amount. Many Gedolim (including both the Gra and Baal Shem Tov as well as Hillel, Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi, Yochanan Hasandler, Rashi, the Rambam and Yosef Karo) are from the Davidic line. Anyone else out there have a mesora?